First Lufthansa flights take off from Shenzhen with masks for Frankfurt

THE first Lufthansa Cargo aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, has departed Shenzhen for Frankfurt the first of 14 cargo flights carrying three million respiratory masks and other medical protective equipment

THE first Lufthansa Cargo aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, has departed Shenzhen for Frankfurt the first of 14 cargo flights carrying three million respiratory masks and other medical protective equipment.

'Lufthansa Cargo has played an important role in the stable supply chain from Asia to Germany in recent weeks. The new cargo flights from Shenzhen ensure that we can make this supply chain even more flexible, so that urgently needed goods arrive quickly in Germany', said Fiege International Freight Forwarding CEO Michael Vollnagel.

Said Shenzhen international cargo centre chief Achim Plucker: 'The launch of the Lufthansa connection is a further step in the internationalisation of Shenzhen Bao'an Airport. We are very pleased to be able to participate in supplying Germany with urgently needed medical goods such as masks.'

All 17 Lufthansa Cargo freighters are in continuous operation, for example to fly medical supplies all over the world. From and to mainland China alone, 16 flights a week are currently operated with Boeing 777F wide-body freighters with a standard load capacity of around 103 tonnes, said the company.

With the newly opened route to Shenzhen, up to 49 additional weekly flights with Lufthansa passenger aircraft for the transportation of goods are offered in China. Since the cabin space of these aircraft can also be loaded with cargo, the average cargo capacity in practice is about 30 tonnes each. Parts of the cabin equipment were removed from ten A330-300s to accommodate a larger cargo volume.

With a turnover of EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) and 8.9 billion revenue tonne-kilometres in 2019, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world's leading companies in the transport of air freight. The company currently employs about 4,500 people worldwide.